I've been meaning to update this blog since last week but I'm just so dead tired after work and all the wedding and house preps. Yep yep! We found our future love nest already! Yeepee! It's now under renovation and hopefully it'll be done by early September. Our past few Saturdays were mostly occupied with canvasing and purchasing materials for the renovation (tiles, bathroom accessories, lights, etc.) Man, I never knew toilet bowls and faucets cost that much!! *LOL* It's a whole new experience for the both of us as we're learning bits and pieces along the way. We're just so glad our ninong-to-be has been very helpful coz Dex and I don't know a thing about carpentry and constructions. He's been doing all the tasks that Dex and I should be doing! From dealing with the contractors, looking for suppliers, checking the progress of the renovation, man, he's doing all the legwork for us! Isn't he the nicest??? :) I'm so excited to see the finished product coz Dex and I have put a lot of effort in conceptualizing the design. We've been having petty fights here and there coz admittedly; we do have our own perception and differences. Luckily, I win the arguments most of the time! *Evil Laugh* Sorry for not posting pictures here coz we want it to be a surprise for our friends. Guys, prepare your contributions nalang sa house blessing ha! I'm sure we'll have lotsa fun!! :)

Now, I have lotsa updating to do. I have several items off my list the past week. A surprise really coz we weren't planning to do anything at all for last week.

First, I got my updated baptismal certificate all the way from Davao! Here's the story. I was baptized in Davao when I was 7 and haven't been there ever since. My mom has been safekeeping my certificate for years and I was only able to get hold of it when the wedding was finalized. To my surprise, the date on the yellowish certificate was wrong! As I don't have any friends or relatives in Davao, I asked Msgr. Bong (our officiating priest) if he knows any one in the province who could help us with the process of rectifying my papers. I was just trying my luck since Msgr. Bong himself was from Bacolod. Jackpot! He referred me to a parishioner who attends weekly mass in the same church where I was baptized. Mrs. A was really heaven sent! She processed my papers and sent the original copy to me via courier. I called her through long distance to extend my appreciation and asked how I could pay her the processing fee. She said no need na coz it's just a small amount and she's good friends with Msgr. Bong naman daw. Nakakahiya!!! Mas nakakahiya pa coz I made kapal-muks pa by telling her to help me one more time when I need to have my baptismal certificate stamped na "for marriage purpose". She said no problem daw. Grabe, I've never been this kapal before but I have to since she's the only one who could help me. I'm super touched talaga coz we don't even know each other, yet she's willing to help a total stranger! Anghel talaga siya! :) We're planning to send her a gift this coming Christmas to show our appreciation.. hm.. ano kaya ang ok na gift na we could send through courier? Suggest naman kayo. :)



Second, we booked Sentimental Groove last Sunday as our musician for the church and reception. We went to their demo sometime early July but were really having apprehensions whether we should get a band or a Chinese emcee nalang who does all the singing and entertaining. Dex and I would really want to have accapella music for the wedding ceremony coz we're both with the church choir and we both love chorale music (Bukas Palad, Hangad, GLAD, UP Madrigal Singers, and the like). We could have asked our group to sing for us during the ceremony but I personally don't think it's a good idea. Having been there, I know how much work, stress, and pressure it takes. I want our friends to enjoy the wedding so I told Dex to get professional singers nalang. Of course, we will also invite our friends to sing, pero no strings attached. Surprise performance nalang nila sa amin if they have time to practice. :) Apart from chorale music on the ceremony, we want to have jazz music naman sa reception. So TSG is really the perfect match to our requirements. Their liason officer Mark texted me a couple of times to follow-up if we will get their group. There's even another couple who were also interested to get their group on the same date as ours. I told Mark di pa talaga kami sure so we'll just give up our slot nalang to the other couple. Last Saturday, he texted me again and said they have this promo daw na X thousands of pesos off until end of the day nalang. Buti nagising ako sa text niya at nabasa ko kaagad. I immediately called Dex and he said bahala na raw ako. I then called Mark and closed the deal! Medyo pricey lang ang fee that's why it took us this long to decide. I'm glad we were able to book them and got a really good price! I even texted Clarice and asked her if the price is ok. She replied and said it's a good deal! The next day (Sunday), we met up with Mark and signed the contract na. Dex and I were just a bit disappointed coz Mark was 1 hour late during our meeting. Di nalang namin gano dinibdib coz we'll be dealing with another person naman for the production meetings.


Third, we finally met up with Alex Franco (after the meeting with TSG) and set our deal with him to be our cake supplier. Alex's really so so so nice! I showed him a couple of cherry blossom cake designs I got from the net and he agreed to do it for me. He said, first time daw niya gagawin yun ganong cake since the designs I showed him were all fondant. He explained naman his limitations when it comes to the design coz yun nga.. hindi fondant yun cakes niya. And don't get me wrong, that's precisely the reason why we book him. We don't want fondant cakes for our wedding coz it's just pretty to look at, but not really pratical. Dex and I both want all edible cakes, not to mention yummy ones. That's why we only considered Alex to do our cake. I'm just so happy that he is willing to extend his powers to make the cake of our dreams! He's very easy to deal with and he really listens to our requests... even sa wrap ng freebie brownies. He asked din if we want to serve the cake to the guests. As much as we would love to, I just told him na since lauriat kami, how feasible will that be? He suggested to serve the cake lauriat style. Meaning several slices of cake will be put in plates and served on each table. We told him we're a bit worried na baka hindi kainin ng guests since may kasama nang dessert ang lauriat. He said base on his experience, kinakain naman daw ng guests. Dami nga daw nag-iinquire na guests afterwards kung sino ang gumawa ng cake. Perfect! Exactly the way we want it to be! We don't want the cake to be a display lang.. gusto talaga namin mashare siya sa lahat. So kahit pricey ang cake ni Alex, worth every cent pa rin talaga since it will be consumed by all! :) And I have to mention Alex's OCness.. haha he even teached us how to do a perfect slice of the cake come wedding day. Dapat perfect triangle at dapat nakatindig siya paglagay sa plate! haha.. I just hope we'll be able to execute his instructions perfectly. Pasmado pa naman si Dex *LOL*!

Gosh, this post is really never-ending if I will keep on blabbing haha... I'll reserve other details in my next update nalang.

HAPPY PREPS everybody!!

P.S. To all who posted or emailed me regarding the bang bang incident, thanks a lot for your heart-warming concerns. It's really nice to know that we're loved by so so so many fabulous people! *muahs*

P.P.S. Before I go, I just wanna share my latest find! It's my new comfort food!! Perfect with coffee!! Yumminess! Ang takaw ko talaga!! :p



P.P.P.S. My nails are now back in it's normal state and the rest is history. :) I just want to emphasize that it's so so durable! After 3 weeks, no chippings whatsoever to think that I didn't really take good care of it. I just have to cut them off coz it's getting way too long and typing already became a challenging task. Nonetheless, it's definitely worth the price!

Labels: food tripping, home sweet home, wedding